Radar video data viewer

ABSTRACT

A computer program which plots radar video data generated by a seeker on a missile. The program allows a user to plot multiple scans of radar video data on a chart, which is obtained from a Data Worksheet. The chart displays one or more sets of radar video data scans and a detection gate plot for each radar video data scan. The program includes Zoom In, Zoom Out, Pan Left and Pan Right functions which allow the user to view and manipulate views of the data displayed by the chart.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to viewing radar video data.More particularly, the present invention relates to computer softwarewhich allows a viewer to view radar video data obtained from a missileseeker in graphical form with the radar video data depicting radar scansfrom the missile seeker.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Currently, there is a need to view radar video data obtained from aHarpoon missile seeker in a graphical form which depicts radar scans.The radar video data from the seeker is recorded on a BQM-34SH targettest platform in encrypted format. The radar video data is thentransferred to a personal computer (PC) for storage and decryptedutilizing a data decryption program in conjunction with electronichardware connected to the PC. The encryption and decryption process isunique to the BQM-34SH recorded data.

There is also a need to view this radar video data using currentlyavailable standard office software found on most Windows operatingsystem compatible PCs. This is desirable due to restrictions in theapplications allowed to run on many Government computer networks, suchas, the Navy Marine Corp Intranet (NMCI) network used by civilian andmilitary employees of the Department of the Navy.

There is no technology currently available which can directly andconveniently allow a user to view Radar Video Data provided by theHarpoon missile seeker to the data decryption program noted above. Theformat of the decrypted data loaded by a radar video data viewer isunique to the data decryption program and is compatible for import intoMicrosoft's Excel spreadsheet program.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes some of the difficulties of the pastincluding those mentioned above in that it comprises a highly effectivecomputer software for plotting multiple scans of radar video data on achart and detection gate information for each scan of radar video dataappearing on the chart. The data being plotted is from the seeker of amissile which is tracking a target. Target information appears withinthe detection gate information generated by the missile's seeker.

The radar video data for each scan and its associated detection gateinformation is loaded onto a Data Worksheet. The computer program thenplots scans of radar video data from the Work Sheet and the detectiongate with the user providing input to identify the scans of radar videodata which the program plots on a chart. The chart appears on a computermonitor which allows a user to view the scans of radar video data andassociated detection gates on the monitor.

The computer program is written for Microsoft Excel and includes PanLeft, Pan Right, Zoom In and Zoom Out functions which the usermanipulates for multiple views of the radar video data and detectiongate plots shown on the computer monitor. Control buttons are providedto allow the user to manipulate the Pan Left, Pan Right, Zoom In andZoom Out functions.

The computer program provides for text labels, which display the firstframe and scan counts and the last frame and scan counts contained inthe radar video data on the data worksheet. The computer program alsoprovides for text box controls which are used to display and set thefirst scan identified by the First Frame and First Scan text boxes.Additional text boxes allow the user to display and set the number ofscans shown on the chart in a Scans Grouped text box, and to display anoffset count of the first sample shown on the chart in a Samples Offsettext box. The Samples Offset text box cannot be set by the user. TheSamples Offset text box shows the first point displayed after a Zoom Inoccurs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a plot worksheet of the radar video dataas the data is shown on a computer video monitor for viewing by aviewer;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart for the Start routine of the computer programRadarVideoDataViewer.xls which allows the viewer to view the plot ofradar video data;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for the New Data routine of the computer programRadarVideoDataViewer.xls;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for the Pan Left routine of the computer programRadarVideoDataViewer.xls;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for the Pan Right routine of the computer programRadarvideoDataViewer.xls;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for the Zoom In routine of the computer programRadarVideoDataViewer.xls;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for the Zoom Out routine of the computer programRadarVideoDataViewer.xls;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart for the First Frame routine of the computerprogram RadarVideoDataViewer.xls;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for the First Scan routine of the computerprogram RadarVideoDataViewer.xls;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for the Scans Grouped routine of the computerprogram RadarVideoDataViewer.xls;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart for the Plot routine of the computer programRadarVideoDataViewer.xls;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for the Clear Plot routine of the computerprogram RadarVideoDataViewer.xls;

FIG. 13 is a flow chart for the Plot Scan routine of the computerprogram RadarVideoDataViewer.xls; and

FIG. 14 is a flow chart for the Add Series routine of the computerprogram RadarVideoDataViewer.xls.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, there shown a plot of radar video data from theHarpoon missile seeker as the data appears on computer video monitor 18for viewing by a viewer. The monitor 18 displays a chart 20 whichincludes control buttons, text labels and text box controls. Chart 20 isused to display one or more sets of radar video data scans 21 and adetection gate plot 32 for each radar video data scan 21.

As shown in FIG. 1 the monitor 18 displays five control buttons: (1) aNew Data control button 22; (2) a Pan Left control button 24; (3) a PanRight control button 26; (4) a Zoom In control button 28; and (5) a ZoomOut control button 30. The New Data control button 22 allows a user toload a new data file containing a series of radar scans with up to 2,048radar scans. The Pan Left control button 24 allows a user to shift aview of the data to the left up to the first point comprising the radarscan. The Pan Right control button 26 allows a user to shift a view ofthe data to the right up to the last point comprising the radar scan.The Zoom In control button 28 magnifies the data within the view aboutthe center of the display illustrated in FIG. 1 to show more detail ofthe display. The Zoom Out control button 30 expands the view of thedisplay to show more of the radar video data scan.

The left vertical axis of the display of FIG. 1 is a count representingthe amplitude of the video signal. The range of for the left verticalaxis is 0 to 250. The right vertical axis represents the amplitude ofthe detection gate 32. The amplitude of the detection gate 32 is eithera one or zero. The horizontal axis of the display of FIG. 1 representsthe samples for a scan. The range for the horizontal axis is 0 to 4096,which represents the maximum number of samples in a scan.

At this time it should be noted that the 0, 1 levels for the detectiongate 32 are generated by the Harpoon Missile's Radar Seeker. Thedetection gate 32 is a window which indicates the location of the targetas determined by the Harpoon Missile's Radar Seeker. When the HarpoonMissile's Radar Seeker does not have the exact location for the targetthe gate 32 is wide. A wide detection gate indicates the general areawhere the Harpoon Missile's Radar Seeker is looking for the target. Thegate narrows when the Seeker locates the target.

The text labels, represented generally by the reference numeral 34,display the first frame and scan counts and the last frame and scancounts contained in the radar video data on the data worksheet. Thelabels 34 are updated only when the viewer loads a new data file byusing the New Data control button 22. The display of FIG. 1 displaysradar video data from Frame 279, Scan 50 to Frame 280, Scan 50.

The text box controls are used to display and set the first scanidentified by the First Frame and First Scan text boxes 36 and 38,respectively. The text box controls are also used to display and set thenumber of scans shown on the chart in the Scans Grouped text box 40, andto display the offset count of the first sample shown on the chart inthe Samples Offset text box 42. The Samples Offset text box 42 cannot beset by the user. The Samples Offset text box 42 shows the first pointdisplayed after a Zoom In occurs.

It should be noted that the scans shown are successive scans with theuser identifying the first scan to be shown by entering numerical datafor the scan to be shown in the First Frame and First Scan text boxes 36and 38 and the number of successive scans to be shown in the ScansGrouped text box 40. For example, if two scans of radar video data areto be shown on graph 20 the user enters the number two in Scans Groupedtext box 40.

The number in the Scans Grouped text box 40 has a range 1-31. The numberin the First Frame text box 36 has a range of 0-4095. The number in theFirst Scan text box 38 has a range of approximately 0-63.

The large values at the beginning of the radio video data scan 21displayed on chart 20 indicate where the master trigger of the radarburst and subsequent bleed over occurs. The radar burst is directedtoward the target and the reflection from the target is represented bypeek 23 displayed on chart 20.

The Data worksheet contains the radar video data comprising all of thescans viewable on the chart of FIG. 1. The format of the radar videodata is as follows:

Data file format:

-   -   Sync,<frame sync>    -   Frame,<frame count>    -   Scan,<scan count>

Video,Gate

-   -   <video sample>,<gate sample>    -   <video sample>,<gate sample>    -   <video sample>,<gate sample>

The following illustrates the format for the video data in the DataWorksheet:

Data Worksheet Format

A B C D . . . N N< > Frame <frame#> Frame <frame#> Frame <frame#> Scan<scan#> Scan <scan#> Scan <scan#> Video Gate Video Gate Video Gate <V₀₀><G₀₀> <V₁₀> <G₀₀> <V_(N0)> <G_(N0)> <V₀₁> <G₀₁> <V₁₁> <G₁₁> <V_(N1)><G_(N1)> . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . <V_(0K)> <G_(0K)> <V_(1L)><G_(1L)> <V_(NM)> <G_(NM)>

The number of scans per frame is approximately of 64. The number ofsamples per scan is no more than 4096. Excel limits the number of rowsin each column of the Data Worksheet to 65,536. Excel also limits thenumber of columns in the Worksheet to 256. For each pair of columns, thedata displayed is limited to sixteen scans. For each Data Worksheet thenumber of scans that can be displayed is limited to 2048. However, Excelalso limits the number of points in a chart to 256,000 points. Thislimits the maximum number of scans which can be charted on the chart ofFIG. 1 simultaneously to thirty one.

The data from the Harpoon Missile's Radar Seeker is input into a videotelemeter on board the BQM-34SH target test platform. The videotelemeter outputs data and a clock to a parallel data encryption unitwhich encryptes the data and then provides the encrypted data to a videorecorder on board the BQM-34SH. When a test using the missile seeker iscomplete, the recorder's data is down loaded into a personal computerand then decrypted. The data can then be viewed on chart 20.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, FIG. 2 is a flow chart for the START routineof the computer program RadarVideoDataViewer.xls which allows the viewerto view the scan 21 of radar video data displayed on chart 20. Programstep 50 begins the Start routine for the computer software programRadarVideoDataViewer.xls. Program step 52 enables Excel Macros withinthe software. In step 54 the program defaults to the plot worksheetwhich shows the scan 21 of radar video data currently in the dataworksheet during program step 54. During program steps 56 and 58, thesoftware waits for user input, which is generated by clicking buttons22, 24, 26, 28 and 30 or entering values in text boxes 36, 38 and 40.Program step 60 starts the New Data routine. Program step 62 starts thePan Left routine. Program step 64 starts the Pan Right routine. Programstep 66 starts the Zoom In routine. Program step 68 starts the Zoom Outroutine.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, when the user clicks the new data button22, the software executes the new data routine of FIG. 3. Program step80 initializes variables. Program step 82 registers the Utility's Folderand name. During program step 84, the user opens the File Dialog Windowto the Utility's Folder in search of the Text Data file.

During program step 86 the user selects a file for display on chart 20which is in the form of the data file format. The user can abort theselection by clicking a cancel button on a file dialog window on thecomputer monitor 18 (program steps 88 and 90). A message is displayed onthe monitor 18 indicating that the operation is being aborted. The FileSelection program step 88 is a decision step which allows a user toselect a file for display or abort the selection process.

Program step 92 opens the data file. The software initializes the rowand column indices of a data array to zero that will contain the videodata scans (steps 94 and 96). The software looks for a frame sync andthen inputs a line of video data into a data array reserved in thememory of the PC (program step 98). The software then checks todetermine if the data is a Sync (program step 100). The first item ofdata in the data-file is always a sync.

A check is then made to determine if the row exceeds the maximum numberof rows allowed by the software (program step 102). This is the maximumnumber of rows allowed by Excel minus the maximum number of samples in ascan Excel allows for 65,536 rows in the worksheet. If the maximumnumber of rows allowed by the software is not exceeded then the softwareproceeds to program step 104. The frame count and scan count, whichfollow the sync, are loaded into the PC for tracking purposes duringprogram step 104. The next line of video data, which is not a framesync, is input into the data array and the row index is incremented(program step 108).

If the maximum number of rows allowed by the software is exceeded thenthe software proceeds to program step 110. The row index will then beset to zero and the column index incremented by two. A check is thenmade if the column exceeds the maximum number of columns allowed byExcel (program step 112) which allows for 256 in the worksheet. If themaximum number of columns is not exceeded the software program step 104in the manner previously described. If the maximum number of columns isexceeded then the software proceeds to program step 114 where the datafile is closed and the data is copied from the data array to the DataWorksheet.

The process of loading a line of data into the data array continuesuntil the end of the file is reached (program step 106), the end of theData Worksheet is reached (program step 112), or the end of a scan isreached.

When the end of a scan is reached, a frame sync will follow and a newscan of video data is loaded into the data array. When the end of thefile is reached (program step 106) or the end of the Worksheet isreached (program step 112), the data file is closed and data is copiedfrom the data array to the Data Worksheet (program step 114).

The data array significantly speeds up the process of loading data intothe Worksheet by eliminating the need to load each line in the file intoa pair of cells in the Worksheet directly. Loading the video data intoan array allows the video data to be copied into the Worksheet in onestep which significantly speeds up the loading process.

When the video data is completely loaded into the Worksheet the firstand last frame and scan counts are displayed (program step 114). For thechart 20 illustrated in FIG. 1, he first frame is 279, the first scan is50, the last frame is 280 and the last scan is 50. The Scans Grouped isdisplayed and Samples Offset is updated and then displayed. The softwaredefaults to one and zero which are displayed in the Scans Grouped textbox 40 and the Samples Offset text box 42, respectively, when new datais loaded into the Worksheet. The first frame value of 279 is displayedin the First Frame text box 36 and the first scan value of 50 isdisplayed in the First Scan text box 38.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, when the user clicks on the Pan Leftcontrol button 24 the software proceeds to the Pan Left routine 62illustrated in FIG. 4. The software Macro checks the Zoom Factor duringprogram step 122. When the Zoom Factor equals zero, which is an invalidvalue, the software sets the Zoom Factor to the default value of one(program step 124). When the Zoom Factor is greater than zero thesoftware proceeds directly to program step 126 which is begins thePanOffset process. When the PanOffset is equal to zero the left limitmessage of the chart 20 is displayed (program step 128). Zero representsthe first sample of video data depicted at the far left end of the radarvideo data scan 21 illustrated in FIG. 1. The software then exits thePan Left routine and waits for another user input (program step 58).

When the PanOffset is not zero a new PanOffset is calculated duringprogram step 130 in accordance with the following expression:

PanOffset=PanOffset−MaxPoints/ZoomFactor/4  (1)

After the value for PanOffset is computed, a test is made to determineif the PanOffset is less than zero (program step 132). When the value ofPanOffset is less than zero the value is set to zero (program step 134).MaxPoints is equal to 4096, which is the maximum number of samples perscan.

When the value of PanOffset is not less than zero a test is made todetermine if there is a change in the value for PanOffset (program step136). When the value of PanOffset does not change the software proceedsto program step 58 and waits for another input from the user. When adetermination is made that the PanOffset is less than the Samples Offset(indicating movement to the left with respect to the chart 20 of FIG.1), the Samples Offset text box 42 is updated and displayed to the user(program step 138). The software then proceeds to the plot routine 116which re-plots the chart 20 including each scan 21 plotted on the chart20.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, when the user clicks on the Pan Rightcontrol button 26 the software proceeds to the Pan Right routine 64illustrated in FIG. 5. The software checks the Zoom Factor duringprogram step 142. When the Zoom Factor equals zero, which is an invalidvalue, the software sets the Zoom Factor to the default value of one(program step 144). When the Zoom Factor is greater than zero thesoftware proceeds to program step 146 which is a decision step. If thePanOffset is not less than the maximum number of points minus themaximum number of points divided by the Zoom Factor then the right limitmessage of chart 20 is displayed to the user (program step 148). Thesoftware then exits the Pan Right routine and waits for another userinput (program step 58).

When the PanOffset has not reached the right limit of chart 20, a newPanOffset is calculated during program step 150 in accordance with thefollowing expression:

PanOffset=PanOffset+MaxPoints/ZoomFactor/4  (2)

After the new value for PanOffset is calculated, a test is made duringprogram step 152 to determine if the value of PanOffset is greater thanthe maximum number of points minus the maximum number of points dividedby the Zoom Factor the Panoffset is set in program step 154 to the valuedetermined by the following expression:

PanOffset=MaxPoints+MaxPoints/ZoomFactor/4  (2)

This expression is the far right limit for the value of PanOffset.

Program step 156 tests the value for PanOffset to determine if there isa change in the value for PanOffset (program step 156). When the valueof Panoffset does not change the software proceeds to program step 58and waits for another input from the user. When a determination is madethat the PanOffset is greater than the Samples Offset, which is theprevious value of PanOffset, (indicating movement to the right withrespect to the chart 20 of FIG. 1), the Samples Offset text box 42 isupdated and displayed to the user (program step 158). The software thenproceeds to the plot routine 116 which re-plots the chart 20 includingeach scan 21 plotted on the chart 20.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, when the user clicks on the Zoom Incontrol button 28, the software proceeds to the Zoom In routine 66. Thesoftware checks the Zoom Factor during program step 162. When the ZoomFactor equals zero, which is an invalid value, the software sets theZoom Factor to the default value of one (program step 164). When theZoom Factor is greater than zero the software proceeds to program step166 which is a decision step. Program step 166 determines if the ZoomFactor is equal to its upper limit which is eight. The waveform isexpanded by a factor of 256 when the Zoom Factor has reached its upperlimit of eight.

If the Zoom Factor is not at the upper limit then program step 168determines the Zoom Factor using the following expression:

ZoomFactor=2*ZoomFactor  (3)

Program step 170 tests the Zoom Factor to see if it is greater than theupper limit, and if it is greater than the upper limit the Zoom Factoris set equal to the upper limit (program step 172). Program step 174displays a message on the computer monitor 18 that the Zoom Factor is atthe upper limit.

If the Zoom Factor is not at the upper limit, the Panoffset isre-calculated (program step 176) using the following expression:

PanOffset=PanOffset−MaxPoints/ZoomFactor/2  (4)

The PanOffset is recomputed to allow the program to zoom in at about themiddle of current view on the display. The Samples Offset text box 42 isupdated and displayed to the user (program step 178). The software thenproceeds to the plot routine 116 which re-plots the chart 20 includingeach scan 21 plotted on the chart 20.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 7, when the user clicks the Zoom Out controlbutton 30, the software proceeds to the Zoom Out routine 68 illustratedin FIG. 7. The software checks the Zoom Factor during program step 182.When the Zoom Factor equals zero, which is an invalid value, thesoftware sets the Zoom Factor to the default value of one (program step182). When the Zoom Factor is greater than zero the software proceeds toprogram step 184 which is a decision step.

When the Zoom Factor is equal to one (indicating the Zoom Out functionis at the lower limit) the software displays to the user that the lowerlimit of Zoom Out has been reached (program step 214).

If the Zoom Factor is not equal to one, then the PanOffset isrecalculated (program step 186) using the following expression:

PanOffset=PanOffset−MaxPoints/ZoomFactor/2  (5)

For example, when the Zoom Factor is equal to two, then the Panoffset isrecalculated using this expression. When the PanOffset is less thanzero, the PanOffset is set equal to zero (program steps 188 and 200).The Samples Offset text box 42 is updated (program step 202) and theprogram step recalculates the Zoom Factor (program step 204) using thefollowing expression:

ZoomFactor=ZoomFactor/2  (6)

Program step 206 tests the Zoom Factor to determine if it is less thanone. Program step 208 sets the Zoom Factor equal to one and thengenerates a plot (program step 116). If the Zoom Factor is not less thanone, the software proceeds directly to program step 116 and generates aplot.

Referring again to program step 188, when the PanOffset is greater thanzero, the software checks to see if the PanOffset is within limits(program step 210). If the PanOffset is within limits the softwareproceeds to program step 202 and updates the Samples Offset text box 42.

Program step 210 also checks to see if the PanOffset is greater thenMaxPoints−MaxPoints/ZoomFactor/2. When the answer is yes then programstep 212 recalculates the PanOffset using the following expression:

PanOffset=MaxPoints−MaxPoints/ZoomFactor/2  (7)

This calculation represents the right limit of came chart 20.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 8, the first frame routine 72 is a textentry routine. The first frame routine is used to enter a new framenumber into the First Frame text box 36. The enter key or the tab key ona keyboard allows a user to process the entry in the First Frame textbox 36. Releasing the enter or tab key calls the first frame subroutine72.

Program step 220 checks to see if the last frame is equal to zero. Ifthe last frame is equal to zero then the software proceeds to programstep 222. Program step 222 scans the Data Worksheet to determine theactual last frame number and last scan number on the Data Worksheet.This scan of the Data Worksheet is required since the last frame numbercannot be zero.

Program step 220 also checks to see if the last frame number is not zeroand thus a valid number. When the last frame number is a valid numberthen the software proceeds to program step 224.

Program step 224 checks to see if the last scan is equal to zero. If thelast scan is equal to zero, the software again proceeds to program step222. Program step 222 scans the Data Worksheet to determine the actuallast frame and last scan numbers on the Data Worksheet. This scan of theData Worksheet is required since the last scan number cannot be zero.

Program step 224 also checks to see if the last scan number is not zeroand thus a valid number. When the last scan number is a valid numberthen the software proceeds to program step 226.

Program steps 226 and 228 ensure that the first frame and first scanentries in the First Frame text box 36 and the First Scan text box 38are within range of the data on the Data Worksheet. The Last Frame andLast Scan were checked to prevent the entry of first frame and firstscan numbers which are beyond the range of the data entered into theData Worksheet. If the answer to the decision made in program step 228is “No” then the frame and scan entries in text boxes 36 and 38 areadjusted to their nearest limit on the Date Worksheet (program step230). A pop up window appears on the monitor 18 notifying the user ofthe adjustment (program step 232). If the answer with respect to thedecision made in program step 228 is “Yes” then the software proceeds toprogram step 234.

Program step 234 scans the Data Worksheet to determine the FirstReference Row (FirstRefRow) and the First Reference Column(FirstRefCol). When the scan being plotted using data from the DataWorksheet is the first scan, the First Reference Row and First ReferenceColumn are each one. Program step 236 checks the Zoom Factor and if theZoom Factor is zero the software sets the Zoom Factor to one (programstep 238) and proceeds to the Plot routine (program step 116). If theZoom Factor is not zero the software proceeds directly to the Plotroutine (program step 116).

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 9, the first scan routine 74 is a text entryroutine. The first scan routine is used to enter a new scan number intothe First Scan text box 38. The enter key or the tab key on a keyboardallows a user to process the entry in the First Scan text box 38.Releasing the enter or tab key calls the first scan subroutine 74.

Program step 240 checks to see if the last frame is equal to zero. Ifthe last frame is equal to zero then the software proceeds to programstep 242. Program step 242 scans the Data Worksheet to determine theactual last frame number and last scan number on the Data Worksheet.This scan of the Data Worksheet is required since the last frame numbercannot be zero.

Program step 240 also checks to see if the last frame number is not zeroand thus a valid number. When the last frame number is a valid numberthen the software proceeds to program step 244.

Program step 244 checks to see if the last scan is equal to zero. If thelast scan is equal to zero, the software again proceeds to program step242. Program step 242 scans the Data Worksheet to determine the actuallast frame and last scan numbers on the Data Worksheet. This scan of theData Worksheet is required since the last scan number cannot be zero.

Program step 244 also checks to see if the last scan number is not zeroand thus a valid number. When the last scan number is a valid numberthen the software proceeds to program step 246.

Program steps 246 and 248 ensure that the first frame and first scanentries in the First Frame text box 36 and the First Scan text box 38are within range of the data on the Data Worksheet. The Last Frame andLast Scan were checked to prevent the entry of first frame and firstscan numbers which are beyond the range of the data entered into theData Worksheet. If the answer to the decision made in program step 248is “No” then the scan entry in text box 38 is adjusted to its nearestlimit on the Date Worksheet (program step 250). A pop up window appearson the monitor 18 notifying the user of the adjustment (program step252). If the answer with respect to the decision made in program step248 is “Yes” then the software proceeds to program step 254.

Program step 254 scans the Data Worksheet to determine the FirstReference Row (FirstRefRow) and the First Reference Column(FirstRefCol). When the scan being plotted using data from the DataWorksheet is the first scan, the First Reference Row and First ReferenceColumn are each one. Program step 256 checks the Zoom Factor and if theZoom Factor is zero the software sets the Zoom Factor to one (programstep 258) and proceeds to the Plot routine (program step 116). If theZoom Factor is not zero the software proceeds directly to the Plotroutine (program step 116).

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 10, the Scans Grouped routine 76 checks theZoom Factor during program step 260. If the Zoom Factor is zero, programstep 262 sets the Zoom Factor equal to one and the software proceeds tothe plot routine (program step 116). If the Zoom Factor is not zero, thesoftware proceeds to program step 116 which is the plot routine.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 11 and 12, the Plot Routine plots the radarvideo data from the Data Worksheet for the scans selected by the useronto chart 20. The software proceeds to clear the plot of old data byentering the Clear Plot routine 264 illustrated in FIG. 12. Chart 20 isactivated during program step 266. Program step 268 gets the seriescount. The series count relates to each of the two plots on chart 20,which are the radar video data scan 21 and the detection gate plot 32.When there is only one scan group displayed on chart 20, there are twoseries being displayed: the radar video data and the detection gate.This results in the series count having a value of two. When two scansare displayed on chart 20 the series count is four. The series count isrequired to delete each of the data series which are displayed on chart20. Each series count must be deleted separately.

Program step 270 is a decision block. When the Series count is not zero,a series is deleted (program step 272) and the series count isdecremented (program step 274). This process continues until each seriesor plot on chart 20 has been deleted from chart 20. The software 276then returns to the Plot routine of FIG. 11.

Program step 278 determines if the first reference row is zero. If thefirst reference row has a value of zero the software scans the DataWorksheet to determine the actual First Reference Row and the FirstReference Column (program step 282). The First Reference Row and FirstReference Column cannot have values of zero.

The First Reference Row contains frame information. The Second ReferenceRow contains scan information. The First Reference Column and Row cellcontains a frame label and the Second Reference Column and FirstReference Row contains the frame number.

After determining the First Reference Row and First Reference Column inthe Data Worksheet, the software proceeds from program step 282 toprogram step 284. The software also proceeds from program 280 directlyto program step 284 when the First Reference Row and First ReferenceColumn in the Data Worksheet are not zero.

Program step 284 sets up a pair of temporary variables identified asRefRow and RefCol. Initially, RefRow and RefCol are set equal to FirstReference Row and First Reference Column. This allows the software toremember the starting point for a plot of radar video data. RefRow andRefCol are manipulated when the viewer uses the Zoom In and Zoom Outfunctions by clicking on the Zoom In control button 28 and the Zoom Outcontrol button 30. In addition, RefRow and RefCol are manipulated whenthe viewer uses the Pan Left and Pan Right functions by clicking the PanLeft control button 24 and the Pan Right control button 26. Thevariables RefRow and RefCol are used during a video data plot on chart20.

The Color Array for chart 20 is also initialized during program step284. Program step 286 again activates chart 20. Program step 288 setsthe Point Count to zero, while program step 290 set the Scan equal tozero.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 11, 13 and 14, program step 292 calls the PlotScan routine of FIG. 13. The Plot Scan routine determines the size ofradar video data points to plot (program step 294). The size isgenerally around 4096 data points but the size can vary fromapproximately 4000 to 4096. For the Video Series plot, which is scan 21on chart 20, the Start Row and Start Column are calculated using thefollowing expressions:

StartRow=RefRow+PanOffset  (8)

StartCol=RefCol  (9)

The number of data points is calculated using the following expression:

NumPoints=Size−MaxPoints−MaxPoints/ZoomFactor  (10)

The color is also established from the eight colors which are available.If only one video data scan and one detection gate scan are plotted onchart the color appearing on chart 20 is the first available color. Thecolors are in order black, blue, green, cyan, red, magenta, brown andorange.

Program step 298 calls the Add Series routine of FIG. 14, which adds thescan data to chart 20. Program step 300 determines the Series Countwhich is the count of the series to be plotted on chart. Program step302 is a decision block which determines if the Series Count is greaterthan the maximum number of series permitted on chart 20. If it is thenprogram step 394 notifies the user that maximum number of series orplots allowed on chart 20 have been exceeded. The value for maximumseries for the chart 20 is 31.

The software proceeds to program step 306 when the Series Count has notbeen exceed adding a new series of radar video data 21 to chart 20 andincrementing the count by plus one (program step 308). It should benoted gate detection plot 32 is added in exactly the same manner usingthe Add Series routine of FIG. 14.

Program step 310 sets a Series Collection Range for a scan from Rowwhich equals StartRow plus three and column which equals StartCol to Rowwhich equals StartRow plus size and column which equals StartCol. Thefirst three rows of a scan include the frame count, scan count and videoand data labels which necessitates the plus three added to StartRow toaccess the video data. The Size is determined by the number of pointswhich are displayed on chart 20 for a particular scan. The Size for ascan in terms of the number of points comprising the scan plot issmaller when the viewer uses the Zoom In function.

Program step 312 sets the border color to the scan color. The bordercolor is the color used to generate the line connecting the video datapoints of scan 21. The Series Collection Name is set during program step314. The name consist of the frame count and scan count which the usercan access by placing a mouse pointer on the radar video pointscomprising scan 21.

The name for the plot illustrated in FIG. 1 appears in a window asfollows to the viewer: series “video 279 50”. The X-axis and Y-axisvalues are also provided for viewing by the user. For example, thex-axis value may be 152 for a particular point on scan 21 with acorresponding Y-axis value of 128. The first three rows of the scancontain the frame count, the scan count and the labels “video” and“gate”.

Program step 316 sets the Series Collection Marker Style to none whicheliminates markers from the plot. The plot is set to be not smooth andthere is no shadow specified for the plot.

Program step 318, which is a decision block, takes the column number andperforms a logical AND with one to determine whether the user is lookingat the first column or the second column of a pair of scan data columnson the Data Worksheet. If the result is zero than the column is thesecond column and the column contains detection gate data. The softwareproceeds to program step 320 which configures the Secondary Axis whichis the detection gate axis on the right side of chart 20. If the resultis not zero, the software proceeds to program step 322 configuring theprimary Y-axis on the left side of the chart.

The software returns to the Plot Scan routine 292 of FIG. 13. Programstep 324 calculates the StartRow, StartCol, NumPoints and Colorparameters for the Gate Series using the following expressions:

StartRow=RefRow+PanOffset  (11)

StartCol=RefCol+1  (12)

NumPoints=Size−MaxPoints−MaxPoints/ZoomFactor  (13)

Color=Color(Scan & 7)  (14)

The Add Series routine 298 is next called to add the Gate series tochart.

Program step 326 tests for data in Cell(RefRow+Size, RefCol). The testdetermines if there is additional data below the current plot of aseries on chart 20. If there is additional data then there is thepossibility for a plot of another series within the same column on theData Worksheet (program steps 328 and 330). In this case RefRow isincreased by size, which is the number of points just plotted. If thereis additional data in the same column of the Data Worksheet a pointer ismoved to the additional data and data is plotted

If there is no additional data in the current cell then a new plot of aseries of radar video data or detection gate data will begin with thenext pair of columns in the Data Worksheet (program steps 328 and 332).In this case RefRow equals one and RefCol is increased by two, whichresults in the next scan to be plotted being contained in the next twocolumns on the Data Worksheet.

Program step 334 returns with a value of size minus three which tracksthe actual number of points plotted on chart 20, not the number of pointrepresented by series information.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 11, the software returns to the Plot routine116 of FIG. 11. Program step 340 keeps track of the number of pointsplotted on chart 20. This prevents the user from exceeding the number ofpoints which can be plotted using Excel. The maximum number of pointswhich can be plotted on an Excel chart is 256,000. Program step 342 is adecision block. When the maximum number of points plotted exceeds256,000 the user is notified that the maximum number of points have beenplotted (program step 344).

When the point count is not greater than the maximum number of pointsallowed then the scan count is incremented by plus one (program step348). Program step 350 is a decision block. When the variable Scan isgreater than Scans Grouped (text box 40) then the software proceeds toprogram step 58 waiting for user input and the plot 21 is complete. Whenthe variable Scan is not greater than Scans Grouped, the softwareproceeds to the plot Scan routine 292 of FIG. 13 and plots another scanon chart 20.

1. A radar video data viewing system comprising: (a) a monitor forviewing a scan of radar video data provided by a radar seeker for amissile, wherein the scan of radar video data appears on a graphdisplayed on said monitor, said graph including: (i) a horizontal axishaving a numerical range of approximately 0 to 4096, said horizontalaxis representing a numerical range of radar video data points for saidscan of radar video data being plotted on said graph; (ii) a firstvertical axis positioned on the left end of said graph, said firstvertical axis indicating an amplitude for each of said radar video datapoints being plotted on said graph; (iii) a second vertical axispositioned on the right end of said graph, said second vertical axisindicating an amplitude for detection gate data appearing on said graph,wherein said detection gate data comprises a detection gate windowplotted on said graph which indicates a location for a target withinsaid radar video data points as determined by the radar seeker for saidmissile; (b) a plurality of control buttons appearing on said monitorbelow said graph, said plurality of control buttons allowing a user tomanipulate views of the scan of radar video data and the detection gatewindow plotted on said graph; (c) a plurality of text box controlsappearing on said monitor below said graph, said plurality of text boxcontrols allowing a user to select the scan of radar video data and thedetection gate data which are plotted on said graph and displayed onsaid graph for viewing by said user; and (d) a computer software programfor controlling, handling and interpreting said radar video data pointsand said detection gate data being plotted on said graph, said computersoftware program transferring the radar video data points for said scanof radar video data and said detection gate data from a data worksheetto said graph and then plotting the radar video data points for saidscan of radar video data and said detection gate data on said graph,wherein said computer software program, responsive to a selection bysaid user of the scan of radar video data to be plotted on said graph,plots the radar video data points for said scan of radar video data andsaid detection gate data on said graph.
 2. The radar video data viewingsystem of claim 1 wherein said plurality of text box controls include afirst frame text box and a first scan text box which allow the user toset and display the scan of radar video data plotted on said graph byentering a frame number in said first frame text box and a scan numberin said first scan text box.
 3. The radar video data viewing system ofclaim 2 wherein said plurality of text box controls include a scansgrouped text box and a samples offset text box wherein said scansgrouped text box allows the user to display and set the number of scansof radar video data displayed on said chart and said samples offset textbox displays an offset count for a first sample of said radar video datapoints shown on said chart.
 4. The radar video data viewing system ofclaim 1 wherein said plurality of controls buttons includes a pan leftcontrol button and a pan right control button, said pan left controlbutton allowing the user to shift a view of the scan of radar video datato the left up to a first radar video data point of said scan of radarvideo data, and said pan right control button allowing the user to shiftthe view of the scan of radar video data to the right up to the lastradar video data point of said scan of radar video data.
 5. The radarvideo data viewing system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of controlsbuttons includes a zoom in control button and a zoom out control button,the zoom in control button magnifying the radar video data points beingviewed by said user about the center of said graph to show a detailedview of said scan of radar video data and the zoom out control buttonexpanding a view of the radar video data being displayed to show more ofsaid scan of radar video data.
 6. The radar video data viewing system ofclaim 1 further comprising a series collection name for each of saidscans of radar video data plotted on said graph wherein said useraccesses the series collection name for said scan of radar video data byplacing a mouse pointer on said scan of radar video data, said seriescollection name including a frame count and a scan count for said scanof radar video data.
 7. The radar video data viewing system of claim 1wherein said plurality of control buttons includes a new data controlbutton which allows the user to load a new data file containing a newseries of radar scans of radar video data comprising approximately 2,048radar scans onto said data worksheet.
 8. The radar video data viewingsystem of claim 7 wherein said new series of radar scans of radar videodata comprises approximately 2,048 radar scans.
 9. A radar video dataviewing system comprising: (a) a monitor for viewing a plurality ofscans of radar video data provided by a radar seeker for a missile,wherein each of said plurality of scans of radar video data appears on agraph displayed on said monitor, said graph including: (i) a horizontalaxis having a numerical range of approximately 0 to 4096, saidhorizontal axis representing a numerical range of radar video datapoints for each of said scans of radar video data being plotted on saidgraph; (ii) a first vertical axis positioned on the left end of saidgraph, said first vertical axis indicating an amplitude for each of saidscans of radar video data points being plotted on said graph; (iii) asecond vertical axis positioned on the right end of said graph, saidsecond vertical axis indicating an amplitude for detection gate dataappearing on said graph, said detection gate data comprising a detectiongate window plotted on said graph which indicates a location for atarget within said radar video data points as determined by the radarseeker for said missile, wherein each of said scans of radar video datahas one detection gate window associated therewith to identify thelocation for said target within a plot of said scan of radar video dataon said graph; (b) a plurality of control buttons appearing on saidmonitor below said graph, said plurality of control buttons allowing auser to manipulate views of each of said scans of radar video dataplotted on said graph and the detection gate window associated with eachof said scans of radar video data; (c) a plurality of text box controlsappearing on said monitor below said graph, said plurality of text boxcontrols allowing a user to select each of said scans of radar videodata to be plotted on said graph and the detection gate data associatedtherewith, wherein said user selects a group number for a total numberof said scans of radio video data for plotting on said graph and thedetection gate window associated therewith; and (d) a computer softwareprogram for controlling, handling and interpreting said radar video datapoints and said detection gate data being plotted on said graph, saidcomputer software program transferring the radar video data points foreach of said scans of radar video data and said detection gate dataassociated with each of said scans of radar video data from a dataworksheet to said graph and then plotting the radar video data pointsfor each of said scans of radar video data and said detection gate dataon said graph, wherein said computer software program, responsive to aselection by said user of each of the scans of radar video data to beplotted on said graph, plots the radar video data points for each ofsaid scans of radar video data and said detection gate data associatedtherewith on said graph.
 10. The radar video data viewing system ofclaim 9 wherein said plurality of text box controls include a firstframe text box, a first scan text box and a scans grouped text box whichallow the user to set and display the total number of said scans ofradar video data to be plotted on said graph by entering a frame numberin said first frame text box, a scan number in said first scan text boxand said group number for the total number of said scans of radar videodata to be plotted on said graph.
 11. The radar video data viewingsystem of claim 10 wherein the group number said user enters into saidscans grouped text box is within a range of one to thirty one whichindicates the number of scans of radar video data to be plotted on saidgraph.
 12. The radar video data viewing system of claim 9 wherein saidplurality of controls buttons includes a pan left control button and apan right control button, said pan left control button allowing the userto shift a view of the scans of radar video data to the left up to afirst radar video data point for each of said scans of radar video data,and said pan right control button allowing the user to shift the view ofthe scans of radar video data to the right up to approximately the fourthousand ninety sixth radar video data point for each of said scans ofradar video data.
 13. The radar video data viewing system of claim 9wherein said plurality of controls buttons includes a zoom in controlbutton and a zoom out control button, the zoom in control buttonmagnifying the radar video data points being viewed by said user aboutthe center of said graph to show a detailed view of said scans of radarvideo data and the zoom out control button expanding a view of the radarvideo data being displayed to show more of said scan of radar videodata.
 14. The radar video data viewing system of claim 9 wherein saidplurality of control buttons includes a new data control button whichallows the user to load a new data file containing a new series of radarscans of radar video data onto said data worksheet.
 15. The radar videodata viewing system of claim 14 wherein said new series of radar scansof radar video data comprises approximately 2,048 radar scans.
 16. Theradar video data viewing system of claim 9 wherein each of said scans ofradar video data is displayed on said graph using one of a pluralitycolors wherein said plurality of colors include black, blue, green,cyan, red, magenta, brown and orange.
 17. A method for plotting andsimultaneously viewing a plurality of scans of radar video data on amonitor for a computer comprising the steps of: (a) down loading saidplurality of scans of radar video data from a radar seeker within amissile to a data array within a memory of said computer, wherein eachof said scans of radar video data has associated therewith detectiongate data; (b) transferring said plurality of scans of radio video dataonto a data worksheet from the data array within said memory in saidcomputer, wherein said scans of radar video data being transferred fromsaid data array to said data worksheet has a range of 1 to 2048; (c)displaying a graph on the monitor of said computer wherein said graphincludes: (i) a horizontal axis having a numerical range ofapproximately 0 to 4096, said horizontal axis representing a numericalrange of radar video data points for each of said scans of radar videodata to be plotted on said graph; (ii) a first vertical axis positionedon the left end of said graph, said first vertical axis indicating anamplitude for each of said scans of radar video data points to beplotted on said graph; (iii) a second vertical axis positioned on theright end of said graph, said second vertical axis indicating anamplitude for detection gate data appearing on said graph, saiddetection gate data comprising a detection gate window to be plotted onsaid graph; (d) plotting a first scan of radar video data on said graphwherein said user selects said first scan of radar video data to beplotted on said graph from said plurality of scans of radar video datacontained on said data worksheet by entering a frame number into a firstframe text box and a scan number into a first scan text box, said firstframe text box and first scan text box appearing below said graph onsaid monitor; and (e) plotting a detection gate window on said graph,said detection gate window comprising the detection gate data associatedwith said first scan of radar video data plotted on said graph, whereinsaid detection gate window for said first scan of radar video dataindicates a location for a target within said first scan of radar videodata as determined by the radar seeker for said missile;
 18. The methodof claim 17 further comprising the step of plotting additional scans ofradar video data on said graph, wherein said user enters a scan groupnumber into a scans grouped text box to determine the number of saidadditional scans of radar video data plotted on said graph.
 19. Themethod of claim 18 further comprising the step of identifying each ofsaid additional scans of radar video data plotted on said graph byutilizing colors to identify each of said additional scans of radarvideo data plotted on said graph plotted on aid graph wherein saidcolors include black, blue, green, cyan, red, magenta, brown and orange.20. The method of claim 18 wherein said scan group number said userenters into a scans grouped text box ranges from 2 to 31 which indicatesthe number of said additional scans of radar video data plotted on saidgraph.